Super-Smart Svan High Chair Converts For Infants, Toddlers, and Beyond

You would think that a two-year-old wouldn't recommend a high chair - this is the time when a child seems desperate to (a) sit in a "big" chair and (b) take advantage of the newfound freedom to climb up and down and up and eat a bite and climb down and up again. But our love for our cool Svan high chair has only grown as it proves that it can grow with our daughter.

We tried to make our baby purchases things that would last beyond the baby years so that 1) we wouldn't have a lot of stuff left over after the first year to either sell or give away (other than the clothes and toys) and 2) to maximize our dollars. With that in mind, we bought a relatively high priced Svan chair, which has a nice all-wooden construction and promised to scale up to toddler and then a youth chair, although we weren't sure how. The design is designed to be so adjustable and functional that your child's high chair can end up at the computer desk in their first apartment.


I was impressed with the chair from the start. It was easy to assemble and didn't cause me hours of frustration. It's well-balanced and has a small footprint, so it doesn't take up much space. When Z was just starting to eat food (at about 7 months) the high chair worked great. My only complaint was that the wood tray was a little clumsy to wash and dry, but all Svan high chair kits now come with a plastic cover for the tray - problem solved! We bought the padded seat cover and it has held up for many washes, although the top seam does slip off the wooden back occasionally.

Now that Z is Miss Independence, she isn't interested in sitting in the high chair with tray anymore. We tried letting her sit in one of our dining room table chairs but the prospect of climbing into and out of the chair was way more exciting than the actual eating. Not to mention the fact that she had to reach up to the table to get at her plate. Then came the time that she tumbled out of the chair during dinner. Clearly she was not big enough yet for the adult chairs. Then I remembered that our Svan chair is designed to convert up. We left the buckle on the seat and removed the tray setup. It works great! She gets to climb up into the chair and we get to buckle her in while she eats. She loves it. She's at the right height for the table, she gets to eat with us, and she feels grown up because she can basically control getting in and out of the chair. (She can even buckle herself in.)

Perfect! All members of our family highly recommend this great high chair. It's one piece of furniture you'll get a lot of use out of, and it's one worth paying more for.

You can purchase Svan high chairs from Amazon.com for around $200.